Trudeau’s delicate balance between the economy and the environment

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enraged many of his supporters, especially younger ones, by approving the Kinder Morgan pipeline. He did so in violation of a campaign promise to reform the review process, and apply the new process to Kinder Morgan.

In announcing his green light for the pipeline, Trudeau claimed to be balancing the interests of the environment and the economy:

Voters rejected the old thinking that what is good for the economy is bad for the environment. They embraced the idea that we need strong environmental policies if we expect to develop our natural resources and get them to international markets.

Climate scientists, First Nations, and communities along the pipeline route and the B.C. coast disagree with the prime minister’s assertion that approving Kinder Morgan achieves any kind of reasonable balance.

There have been many words written on this perceived betrayal, but in this case Montreal illustrator AJ Korkidakis has provided a picture worth a thousand words.